Table tennis: Swinging the racket billions of times, achieving a grand slam

Chapter 507 As long as you have passion in your heart, you'll always be in your prime!
Local time, 6 p.m.

The first semi-final match began with the women's singles.

Ye Sijia vs. Kuai Man.

Both are young players in women's table tennis, and both have reached the Grand Slam singles semifinals for the first time.

Teammates off the court, opponents on the court.

Therefore, they fought very hard.

After a fierce battle of seven rounds, lasting more than an hour, the final victory was decided.

In the end, Ye Sijia narrowly defeated Kuai Man with a score of 4:3 to advance to the women's singles final.

Her opponent in the final will be the winner between Zhu Yuling and Mima Ito.

Followed by.

That was the men's singles semi-final.

The first match was between Wang Chuqin and Felix Le Brun.

The game hasn't started yet.

Accompanied by Xie Mingyang and Zhang Jiahao, Chen Jin arrived at the training hall to warm up for the upcoming semi-finals.

Push the door open and enter.

A unique smell, a mixture of sweat, rubber, and plaster, hit me.

Meanwhile, the explosive sound of hitting the ball, the friction of the shoe soles against the ground, and the player's unique breathing technique echoed in the somewhat empty training hall.

The competition is nearing its end.

Many players and coaches have already left.

The once bustling training hall naturally became deserted.

Looking around, there were only a handful of people.

"what?"

Zhang Jiahao said in a low voice, "The notebook is here so early? It's too diligent!"

In the huge training hall, there were only three people: Tomokazu Harimoto, Hayato Togami, and Seiya Kishikawa.

Seiya Kishikawa stood on one side of the table, firing ping-pong balls at every corner of the table like a machine gun.

Meanwhile, Tomokazu Harimoto's figure darted back and forth between the two ends of the table.

Each movement was accompanied by a low growl.

Every shot brings together the full power of the body.

His back was already soaked with sweat, but there was no sign of fatigue on his face.

After glancing at Tomokazu Harimoto's hitting motion, Chen Jin remained noncommittal, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Zhang Ben's forehand topspin seems to hit the ball a little later than before."

Xie Mingyang, standing beside him, lowered his voice.

"Ah."

Chen Jin nodded, without lingering any longer.

I walked toward another empty pool table not far away.

He gently placed the backpack on the ground, opened the pocket, and took out his familiar pool table.

First, do some simple stretching to loosen up your hands, feet, waist, and hips.

More than ten minutes later, with Xie Mingyang as his sparring partner, they began to warm up with a ball.

However, it only covers the most basic forehand and backhand attacks, as well as footwork and movement.

It was nowhere near as intense as Tomokazu Harimoto's.

Zhang Jiahao, having nothing to do, acted as a caddy on the sidelines, occasionally glancing towards Zhang Benzhihe's side.

"Damn, you've been practicing your scripts really hard."

As Zhang Jiahao poured the training balls into the basin, he said, "Looks like he's really going all out to have a showdown with you, Brother Jin, tonight."

"Zhang Ben isn't the only one determined to beat Chen Jin."

Xie Mingyang stepped forward, grabbed a handful of training balls, and stuffed them into his pocket.

Since Chen Jin burst onto the scene, he has climbed to the top by stepping on countless established geniuses.

Now, it has become the goal that all men's singles players want to achieve.

It's that insurmountable mountain we have to climb!

Beneath Chen Jin's throne, there is no shortage of challengers' corpses, nor their ambitions.

“I know that you, surnamed Xie, are one of them.”

Zhang Jiahao's expression and tone carried a hint of provocation.

However, Xie Mingyang never shied away from expressing his desire to defeat Chen Jin.

"Of course!"

Xie Mingyang slightly raised his chin.

"how?"

Chen Jin smiled and looked at Zhang Jiahao, "You don't want to?"

"Forget it."

Zhang Jiahao grinned, "Brother Jin, you know me."

Why make things difficult for yourself if you know you can't do it?

Having finished speaking.

He plopped down on the floor, found a comfortable position, and took his phone out of his pocket.

Turn on the live stream and put on your headphones.

"The match between Wang Chuqin and Lebrun is about to begin."

Zhang Jiahao shouted, "Go Lebrunn!"

Fortunately, there were no outsiders nearby; otherwise, his words, which were detrimental to unity, would have earned him a severe scolding.

"Holy crap, Felix's backhand is so powerful today, his speed of transition, his back-to-the-table counter-attack... he's starting to resemble you a little bit, Kim."

"Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap... a series of backhand counter-loops from mid-to-long range... Damn, Felix's backhand counter-loop actually managed to break through Wang Chuqin's forehand?"

"Is Felix's backhand too strong, or is Wang Chuqin's forehand too weak?"

"That's incredible! Felix's backhand... Holy crap, that forehand smash halfway off the table, wow... it really has that kind of unreasonable vibe from you, Kim!"

"In this match, I seemed to see a bit of your style in Lebrun... Just by looking at Felix's playing style, I can tell he's studied your games a lot."

"Lebrunn was playing like a madman today, he might just be able to turn the tide and make it to the finals."

"Hey, hey, I just finished speaking, why are you starting to hit me randomly?"

"It's over, it's over. Felix got numb from the serve in the fifth game and his mentality collapsed. He was given match point by the dice and is now down 2-3. He failed to catch the dice."

"Holy crap, Felix is ​​amazing! He actually held on!"

"The score is tied at 3-3!"

"Go, Xiao Bu, for the final round! Watch out for your dice serve!"

"Dice catch successful, tonight!"

"Holy crap, once it gets to the deciding round, the dice roll's magic kicks in right from the start. Felix's numb from all the serves!"

"Oh no, it's over."

Zhang Jiahao put down his phone, let out a long sigh, and said with regret, "The dice have made it to the finals."

"Brother Jin, you're going to fight Wang Chuqin again."

at this time.

Chen Jin had just finished a set of forehand and backhand topspin shots that lasted more than ten minutes across the table, and was covered in sweat and panting heavily.

He immediately stopped, wiped his sweat, and drank some water.

Hearing Zhang Jiahao's words, he simply gave a faint "hmm".

For him, it didn't matter whether Wang Chuqin or Felix made it to the finals.

His goal was pure and simple.

Win every match in front of you, and defeat every opponent standing across the table.

……

Then, the second women's singles semi-final match, Zhu Yuling vs. Mima Ito, began.

The match has progressed to the third game.

Staff members arrived at the training hall and reminded Chen Jin and Zhang Benzhihe to go backstage to wait.

"Go for it, Brother Jin!"

Zhang Jiahao and Chen Jin high-fived. "Give him a good beating, don't give me any face."

"come on."

Xie Mingyang also said.

Under the watchful eyes of the two men, Chen Jin, carrying a backpack, went backstage alone.

Just then, I brushed past Tomokazu Harimoto.

Their eyes met, and they smiled at each other.

It seemed peaceful, yet it was like swords clashing, sparks flying. We soon arrived backstage.

Hand the racket to the testing personnel.

Inspect the ball and sign.

Wang Hao had just finished his duties off the field with Wang Chuqin when he immediately went to wait for Chen Jin.

The last match was extremely close.

Wang Hao was still shaken, his face tense, as if he had aged twenty years in an instant.

"I'll have to put on two more face masks tonight."

Just when I was thinking this.

Looking up, I saw Chen Jin walking towards me.

Like a spring breeze overnight, Wang Hao suddenly became radiant.

"coming?"

Wang Hao smiled broadly, "Is everything ready? Spare racket, towels, water, bananas..."

Everything is ready.

Chen Jin nodded.

"That's good."

Wang Hao glanced at Zhang Benzhihe and said, "This isn't our first time fighting, you should have experience. Be ruthless."

"Finish it as soon as possible, then call it a day."

The key issue is that his old, baby-like heart can no longer withstand the rollercoaster of emotions.

"clear."

Chen Jin nodded again.

I turned my head and looked at the television screen not far in front of me.

On the screen was the live broadcast of the match between Zhu Yuling and Mima Ito.

Back then, Mima Ito was a major victim of Zhu Yuling's misfortune.

Now back on the field, facing her old rivals again, it remains to be seen whether Zhu Yuling can overcome her mental block.

"Sister Ling, keep it up!"

Chen Jin silently offered his blessings.

At this point in the match, the score was tied at 2-2.

Especially in the fourth game, Zhu Yuling lost by a huge margin of 4:11.

Fortunately, Zhu Yuling's ability to adjust has improved considerably compared to before.

In the next two games, we played steadily and cautiously.

She ultimately defeated Mima Ito with a score of 4-2, advancing to the final.

After Zhu Yuling clenched her fist in celebration, Chen Jin smiled and said, "Congratulations, Sister Ling, on overcoming your mental barrier."

She was once the world's number one female table tennis player, and was a contemporary of Chen Meng.

Now, Chen Meng has defended his Olympic singles title, and is only one World Table Tennis Championships title away from achieving a Grand Slam.

However, Zhu Yuling retired from the national team early due to various reasons.

After many years, he returned to the competition, fought his way through the competition, and finally made it to the finals of such an important international event.

The hardships and efforts involved need no further explanation.

As long as you have passion in your heart, you'll always be in your prime!
The match between Zhu Yuling and Mima Ito has just ended.

Staff came to remind them: "The two players participating in the men's singles, please prepare to enter the court."

Instantly.

All distracting thoughts were eliminated.

Chen Jin stood up from the sofa and stretched his arms and legs slightly.

the other side.

Tomokazu Harimoto got up at almost the same time.

He took a deep breath and stomped his feet hard.

It was as if they wanted to shatter the last trace of hesitation and tension on the ground.

Under the guidance of the staff.

Chen Jin and Zhang Benzhihe walked towards the players' tunnel, one after the other.

The closer you get to the entrance, the louder the sounds from the stadium become.

The shouts, cheers, and applause of tens of thousands of people intertwined, as if carrying a tsunami, constantly crashing against the walls of the passageway.

At the same time, it also impacted the eardrums and hearts of both athletes.

The host's loud voice echoed throughout the venue, reverberating and reverberating.

"First up is—Harimoto Tomokazu, Japan!"

The words fell.

It was accompanied by a burst of applause that wasn't particularly enthusiastic.

Zhang Benzhihe tightened his jaw, strode forward, and was the first to enter the arena.

Followed by.

The host's voice suddenly rose in pitch.

"Next, let's welcome CHEN Jin, China!"

Wow——! ! !
The moment the name "CHEN Jin" was called out.

The entire Orleans stadium seemed to have been hit by a bombshell.

The atmosphere at the scene instantly exploded.

"Chen Jin!"

"Chen Jin!"

"Chen Jin!"

……

The shouts were unified and synchronized.

Like a volcano that has been accumulating for millions of years, it suddenly erupts.

It was like a tsunami with towering waves, covering the sky and the earth.

Look around.

In the stands, countless five-star red flags were being waved wildly.

Overseas Chinese, international students, and fans who came all the way here, with their unreserved enthusiasm and energy, completely turned this foreign stadium on the other side of the ocean into Chen Jin's absolute home ground!

Chen Jin walked slowly down the T-shaped passageway and waved to the crowd.

His expression was calm as still water, and his steps were steady as a mountain.

The cheers of the fans at the stadium sounded like war drums, resonating in Chen Jin's ears and stirring his heart.

To Tomokazu Harimoto, it was to his liking.

But they were like invisible hammer blows, each one striking his heart.

"Whoo~"

Tomokazu Harimoto stood on the sidelines, taking a deep breath.

They tried to shut out this one-sided cheering.

But then, she couldn't help but look up at Chen Jin.

That figure was so upright and calm, yet it carried an imposing, kingly aura, exuding an overwhelming sense of pressure.

"Hold on!"

Tomokazu Harimoto mentally encouraged himself, "I can win! I can definitely beat him!"

A brief pre-match preparation.

The referee signaled for both players to come forward to choose a side.

Chen Jin and Zhang Benzhihe stood facing each other and shook hands.

Their eyes met again in mid-air.

This time, there was no restraint whatsoever.

The fighting spirit in Tomokazu Harimoto's eyes was like a drawn sword, gleaming coldly, piercing straight ahead.

Chen Jin's eyes remained a deep, unfathomable calm.

But beneath the calm lies absolute confidence forged through countless battles.

It is an unwavering certainty of victory.

It is the composure and majesty of a king when facing any challenge within his own territory!

War is imminent.

Chen Jin vs. Tomokazu Harimoto.

(End of this chapter)